Aging Mandibular Bison Teeth with ArcGIS®
Class
Article
Graduation Year
2017
College
Caine College of the Arts
Department
Sociology, Social Work & Anthropology Department
Faculty Mentor
David Byers
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
This mixed-media presentation offers a new, non-destructive, empirical, and replicable method for aging bison teeth with mandibular tooth photos and ArcGIS® digital mapping. Tooth eruption, growth, and attrition can document age-at-death, which informs on hunting strategies, occupation seasonality, environmental conditions, and herd health. Previous dentition studies utilize numerous tooth metrics that commonly require specimen-destructive research methods. Also, occlusal wear age estimates rely on subjective wear patterning classifications and figures. We suggest a new approach that provides age profiles by “mapping” occlusal wear with ESRi’s AcrGIS® software. Planview mandibular tooth photos from known-age (baseline) mandible samples and well-documented prehistoric samples including the Agate Basin, Hawken, Horner, Glenrock, Vore, and Folsom sites were captured and georeferenced. Next, GIS polygons were digitized for various occlusal surface features. Digitized GIS shape files were then used to generate various occlusal surface feature areas, and multiple statistical methods were employed that explore relationships between quantified occlusal surfaces and specimen ages. Results then inform on 13,000 years of human-bison interaction, and provide highly-detailed planview figures that greatly add to future research.
Location
Room 208
Start Date
4-13-2017 1:30 PM
End Date
4-13-2017 2:45 PM
Aging Mandibular Bison Teeth with ArcGIS®
Room 208
This mixed-media presentation offers a new, non-destructive, empirical, and replicable method for aging bison teeth with mandibular tooth photos and ArcGIS® digital mapping. Tooth eruption, growth, and attrition can document age-at-death, which informs on hunting strategies, occupation seasonality, environmental conditions, and herd health. Previous dentition studies utilize numerous tooth metrics that commonly require specimen-destructive research methods. Also, occlusal wear age estimates rely on subjective wear patterning classifications and figures. We suggest a new approach that provides age profiles by “mapping” occlusal wear with ESRi’s AcrGIS® software. Planview mandibular tooth photos from known-age (baseline) mandible samples and well-documented prehistoric samples including the Agate Basin, Hawken, Horner, Glenrock, Vore, and Folsom sites were captured and georeferenced. Next, GIS polygons were digitized for various occlusal surface features. Digitized GIS shape files were then used to generate various occlusal surface feature areas, and multiple statistical methods were employed that explore relationships between quantified occlusal surfaces and specimen ages. Results then inform on 13,000 years of human-bison interaction, and provide highly-detailed planview figures that greatly add to future research.